Pair charged after body of infant found buried in Will County, authorities say
Sensitive content warning: Information about alleged child abuse in this story may be difficult for some readers.
A man and a woman were charged after authorities said they buried an infant child at a home in Will County last year.
Nicole Pokrzywa, 36, and William Cosmen, 38, were charged on Saturday with one count of desecration of a corpse.
The Will County Sheriff's Office on Thursday said it received information on an infant that was possibly buried in the 1900 block of Roberts Road in Wilmington, Illinois.
Detectives learned that in October of 2024, Pokrzywa had given birth to a child, and the remains of the infant were buried on the Roberts Road property. She was believed to be six to eight months pregnant at the time of the birth, the office said.
According to the office, detectives learned that the infant's remains were marked with a large rock on top of the burial site. Following the investigation, a search warrant for the residential property was obtained, and Pokrzywa and Cosmen, both from Manhattan, Illinois, were placed into custody and detained on Friday morning.
Detectives and crime scene investigators found the area where the infant was reportedly buried. Investigators dug about 3 feet and found an Old-Style Beer box with the infant's remains inside, wrapped in a plastic bag and cloth, the office said.
Pokrzywa and Cosmen were both interviewed by detectives and made incriminating statements about the infant's death.
Both said that Pokryzwa gave birth to the infant at a residence in the 400 Block of North Street in Manhattan, Illinois.
They said the child was born in a toilet, and that Cosmen attempted to dispose of the infant's body by forcing the body down the toilet drain with a plunger, the office said.
After realizing that the infant's body would not fit down the drain, they left the deceased infant inside the toilet overnight. The infant was later removed and wrapped in a plastic bag and a green shirt and taken to the Roberts Road residence.
The pair said they dug a hole that was 3 feet wide by 4 feet deep, and buried the child.
The infant was described as weighing 5-7 pounds at the time of delivery. An autopsy was performed and concluded that the age of the female infant child was between 22-27 weeks old, the office said.
Additional testing of biological materials removed from the female infant is needed due to the level of decomposition.
The Will County Sheriff's Office said it will continue to work with the State's Attorney's office on additional charges once further testing of the remains is completed.
On Saturday, Pokrzywa and Cosmen were taken to the Will County Adult Detention Facility.
No official court date was released.